Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545202
40 S U M M E R 2 0 2 6 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y M E E T T H E W I N N E R S TELEVISION SERIES – ONE HOUR THE PITT S01 E13 "7:00 PM" by Blas Kisić CAS If you haven't watched The Pitt, you might be forgiven for thinking that all medical shows are alike. But watch even a single episode of this show, and you'll see why everyone is raving about it. It's a sensory experience like no other: The urgency of extreme medical emergencies competing for the attention of an understaffed, stressed-out, life-saving team will keep you on the edge of your seat. The winning sound team partially responsible for the show's success got together to share their experiences: production sound mixer Von Varga, ADR mixer Tami Treadwell, Foley mixer Alex Jongbloed CAS, and re-recording mixers Todd M. Grace CAS and Ed Carr III CAS. The unrelenting storytelling style was clear from the script. During his job interview, production sound mixer Von Varga said, "I read your script, and only one word comes to mind, and that word is 'beast.' Is it gonna be like this from beginning to end?" Varga actually turned down the job at first—but he eventually changed his mind. "We didn't really know that much about the show," explains re-recording mixer Todd Grace CAS, "so we started looking it up. We're, like, 'Great, we love John Wells, he's awesome. Medical drama, he sure knows how to do those.' But we didn't know that it was going to be this sort of 'guerrilla style.'" Foley mixer Alex Jongbloed CAS remembers, "We heard it was gonna be a medical drama, and I think the immediate go-to in your head is, you know, Grey's Anatomy. And then we saw the first episode, and we were like, 'This is really good!'—also, 'This is gonna be really, really hard!'" During the first week of production, Von Varga wondered whether he'd be able to sustain that pace for the whole season. He and his team of boom operator (1st assistant sound) Javier M. Hernández, and utility sound technicians (2nd assistant sound) Yervant Hagopian and Cristina Meyer would have to—effectively—relearn everything they knew about production sound. The two mainstays that allow a film crew to deliver their best work—crew rehearsals and an established camera and lighting plan—were out the window. Von explains: "No marks on the floor. They're not allowed to take measurements. There is no dolly, there are no sticks. We get one rehearsal. It's not uncommon for them to turn on the lights, rehearse, and we are shooting 15 to 20 minutes after call. With the vision of one rehearsal, I don't get to practice the mix. I get one run at it, and then we shoot." UST Cristina Meyer added, "Our lightest day is most shows' heavy days. This show has absolutely made us all better at our